Genesee County Spartans quarterback Harry Rascoe gets off a pass during the third quarter of Saturday’s Northeastern Football Alliance game against the Southern Tier Stallions at Pembroke Town Park. The Stallions blanked the Spartans, 23-0. Photos by Amanda Eschenlauer/Genesee County Spartans.
BY MIKE PETTINELLA
Genesee County Spartans
The Genesee County Spartans fell to the Southern Tier Stallions, 23-0, in Northeastern Football Alliance action on Saturday afternoon at Pembroke Town Park.
The visitors scored in every quarter, shut down the Spartans’ running game and forced seven turnovers to improve to 2-0.
The Spartans, 0-1 after their opener on May 30th was ruled unofficial due to a lack of certified referees, travel to Ithaca next Saturday to take on the Warriors.
Southern Tier was led by running back Illya Watson, who rushed for 57 yards on 10 carries, including a 1-yard TD plunge to cap the scoring late in the fourth quarter.
The Stallions took a 3-0 lead on a 27-yard field goal by Deshaun Jones with 3:13 left in the opening period and made it 11-0 midway through the second quarter on a 35-yard punt return by Lester Owens and the two-point conversion run by quarterback Earl Brooks.
Kyle Donovan took over as QB in the third quarter and lofted a 74-yard touchdown pass to Deavonte Jones with 2:50 left in the period to make it 17-0.
Spartans tight end Logan Pike is taken down by Brian Alexander of the Stallions after a short gain on Saturday.
The Spartans were able to put together just one long drive due to five interceptions (three by Rasheed Pettiford), a lost fumble and failure to cover the ball on an onside kick by the Stallions to start the game.
Forced into action at quarterback, Spartans’ owner Harry Rascoe completed 10 of 18 for 98 yards and four interceptions. Levi Wright came on in the fourth quarter and rushed for 20 yards but also threw an interception.
Defensively, Andre Budlong and Ace Black forced fumbles that were recovered by Shawn Johnson Jr. and Tre Woods, respectively, while defensive back JayQuon Martin knocked away a couple passes from their intended receivers.
“This game was tough but there’s no doubt in my mind that we have the skillset and the players and the leadership to turn this around,” said Spartans Head Coach Jermaine Henderson. “So, I’m hoping that the guys will learn from this and we can move forward from here.”
Henderson gave Rascoe, at age 40 and not having played in several years, credit for answering the call with the team’s quarterback situation in flux.
“Harry’s a dog. He gave it his best shot, and I have nothing but respect for him,” Henderson said.